1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for removing a band from a bundle of sheets, comprising a transport device to transport the sheet bundle to a band-removing device in which the band is severed by means of a cutting device and removed from the bundle by means of a pull-off device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The automatic band-removing of bank-note bundles as used, for example, in completely automatic bank-note sorting machines, is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift 31 18 113.
In the method described here for removing a band wrapped around a bundle of sheets of paper, an end section of the bundle of sheets is clamped mechanically in a band-removing device in such a way that the sheet bundle is arched. This arching causes the part of the band located above the concave portion of the arched sheet bundle to come away from the sheet bundle. The freely exposed section of the band can then be grasped by a correspondingly constructed hook and removed from the sheet bundle. In a further embodiment of the known method, the part of the band exposed by the arching is cut and the band is then removed from the bundle by aid of a suction arm.
In the method described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 31 18 113, arching of the sheet bundle is necessary in any case for band-removing. For this purpose, additional elements of the device and/or procedural steps must be provided, increasing the expenses related to construction or production and also control. The described method also requires the band to be arranged within a certain area of the sheet bundle. Care must be taken, at least, that the band is not located in the area of the elements provided for arching. The operator of the sorter must therefore perform the corresponding preparatory work.
A critical procedural step in the described band-removing device must be seen in the exposure of a section of the band due to the arching of the bundle. This process is problematic, for example, when the band sticks to the sheet bundle due to electrostatic charges. The one-sided removal of the closed band from the bundle also seems to be critical in the case of the proposed method. The band can easily be twisted or tied up in the process.